Council Meeting, 27 November 2013

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
All Councillors are summoned to the Ordinary
Meeting of Helmdon Parish Council to be held in the
Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wednesday 27th November 2013 at 7.30 pm.
Members of the public and Press are invited to attend and to participate in the Open Forum
AGENDA
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Approval and Signature of the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 25th September and the Extra Ordinary Meetings of the 1st and 16th October and 7th November 2013
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes of the above Meetings
5. Open Forum
6. Finance
7. Correspondence Review
8. Planning:
a) To receive update regarding the Broadview Energy Ltd Wind Farm development b) To receive decisions of Planning committee on applications since 25/09/13
c) Update from Parish Clerk regarding outstanding applications
9. To receive a report from Cllr Moody on the meeting of the South Northants Clerks’
Forum held on 8 November 2013
10. Blackpits Monitoring Group – update
11. To receive reports from Cllr Coatsworth regarding a) CPRE roadshow b) SNC Planning Dept solar farms c) SNC Planning Dept local plan development
12. Best village competition – actions arising from judges' comments
13. To receive update regarding ditch clearance and other flooding related issues
14. To receive update from the Clerk regarding Western Power’s correspondence regarding street lighting on Wappenham Road
15. To receive update regarding the Jubilee Wall a) Financial statement b) To note payments received c) To consider bills for payment d) To receive a financial update from HSGWAG on monies expended and remaining to date.
e) To consider instructing works for playground slide refurbishment f) To consider report from Helmdon Parish Plan Group regarding possible projects requiring funding under the SNC Grants Funding Programme together with further information from the School regarding the School Field proposal g) To fix a date for a meeting of the Finance Committee to prepare a draft budget for 2014/15.

16. To appoint a Highway Warden for Helmdon under the new Northamptonshire Highways
Scheme.
17. To consider most appropriate installation point for new computer for HS2 information dissemination
18. Update from Playground Committee
19. To receive recommendations from the Allotment Committee
20. Councillors’ Questions
Signed _______________________
Dated________________________
Liz Hart, Parish Clerk
[address removed]

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HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the Ordinary meeting of Helmdon Parish Council held on
Wednesday 27th November 2013 at the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7:30pm
Present: Councillors Burns, England, Garner, Adhemar, Duncombe, Moody, Coatsworth,
Barnes
Parish Clerk: Liz Hart
Five members of the public were present.
Cllr Burns gave condolences to Audrey Forgham following Wilf’s recent death; Audrey thanked the Parish Council for sending a card.
1 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Simpson had sent apologies sent due to sickness; these were accepted by the meeting.
2 Declarations of Interest
None declared.
3 Approval and Signature of the Minutes of Ordinary Meeting of 25th September and the
Extra Ordinary Meetings of the 1st and 16th October and 7th November 2013
th It was resolved to approve the Ordinary Meeting Minutes of 25 September with the following amendments: Cllr Barnes added to the list of those present. Item 10d – d) To consider any issues arising from the External Auditor’s Report – “so” action corrected to “no” action.
st It was resolved to approve the Extra ordinary Meeting Minutes of 1 October with the following amendment – Item 4a – insert “to build a wind farm” after “application”
th It was resolved to approve the Extra Ordinary Meeting Minutes of 7 November with no amendments.
4 Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Meetings of 25th September and the Extra
Ordinary Meetings of the 1st and 16th October and 7th November 2013
th 25 September:
Item 4 Matters Arising – Cllr Adhemar confirmed that she had visited the allotment site and there were no obstructions visible in the stream.
th Item 8 Superfast Broadband – the resolutions adopted on 25 September were as follows:
• That Helmdon Parish Council welcomes the announcement by NCC/BT that Superfast broadband will be available in Helmdon from summer/autumn 2014 at the very latest and continues to work with NCC/BT to expedite that.
• That whilst individuals (particularly those living in Lukes Close) are at liberty to choose to take service from TVB, that Helmdon Parish Council does not seek a formal partnership with TVB and does not seek to establish a TVB-style community group in
Helmdon.
Item 9 Flooding – Cllr Burns confirmed that a very productive meeting had taken place with the
Tims family the previous Sunday and that they had indicated that they would co-operate fully with suggestions to alleviate the issues
Item 10e) Finance – the Clerk confirmed Mrs Johnson will attend the January PC meeting.
Action

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Item 12a) Cycle Path – Cllr Barnes had been unable to attend the HS2 meeting due to logistical issues st 1 October: none.
th 16 October: none.
th 7 October: none.
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6
Open Forum
The Clerk confirmed that she was continuing to chase EON UK regarding street lamp repairs. Clerk
The Clerk was asked to thank the Gardening Club for their fantastic work on the War Memorial graden. Cllr Moody was thanked for his time spent on the Pump Garden
.
Clerk
Finance a) Financial statement
It was resolved to accept the following financial statement:
Current Account (Coop) @ 13/11/13 18,643.04
The Clerk was asked to communicate thanks to Brown and Barden for their excellent ground maintenance this year.
b) To note payments received
The following were noted:
Payments Received Amount
Interest (October) 3.04
Interest (November) 3.08
c) To consider bills for payment
It was resolved to pay the following bills:
Accounts Payable NET VAT GROSS Cheque
Brown and Barden –3666 October 195.71 39.14 234.85 500369
P.D. Ward (sign for jubilee wood) 54.17 10.83 65.00 500370
E Hart – Clerk’s Wages 750.74 0.00 750.74 500371
Reading Room 75.00 0.00 75.00 500372
Top Print (November newsletter) 138.75 0.00 138.75 500373
EON UK (lighting repairs) 86.38 17.28 103.66 500374
EON UK (lighting repairs) 23.47 4.69 28.16 500375
d) To receive a financial update from HSGWAG on monies expended and remaining to
Clerk

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date.
It was resolved to note the report previously circulated by the Clerk.
e) To consider instructing works for playground slide refurbishment
The quotes received by the Clerk were reviewed. Cllr Moody stated that his was not in favour of the proposed works as it was simply replacing like with like and was a significant amount of money. He felt a new piece of equipment would have been preferable. After much discussion it was resolved (8 notes in favour, 1 against) to accept the quote from LR brown Ltd for £4579
plus VAT and that the Clerk should instruct the works to proceed.
Clerk f) To consider report from Helmdon Parish Plan Group regarding possible projects requiring funding under the SNC Grants Funding Programme together with further information from the School regarding the School Field proposal
Cllr Coatsworth –reported that possible projects include supporting the development of the social side of the sports club, resolving known flooding issues and addressing the issue of speeding in the village.
Cllr Burns closed the meeting to allow Darren Worthy to speak.
Darren reported as Chairman of the Sports Club. The toilet facilities updated had been updated and some painting some done. A new committee was in place and ideas for improvement centred around the club becoming more of a social club, with one social event planned per quarter. The most pressing issue was to replace the floor with an Astroturf entrance and then a cushioned floor and skirting. A quote for £1720 had been received.
The meeting was re-opened.
It was resolved to obtain quotes for a speeding camera similar to the one at Abthorpe and that
Darren Worthy should obtain to get two further quotes and submit them to the Clerk. These and any flooding issues to be considered at the January meeting.
Clerk g) To fix a date for a meeting of the Finance Committee to prepare a draft budget for
2014/15.
th It was resolved to hold a meeting of 8 January 2014.
7 Correspondence Review
Correspondence as per Appendix A was reviewed. It was noted that the Tex coach service was no longer in operation. The correspondence from the school regarding the poor condition of the pavements was discussed. It was resolved that the Clerk should advise the school that pavements were not the responsibility of the Parish Council and that no funding would be available. The Clerk was asked to re-submit comments to NCC regarding the B4525.
8 Planning:
a) To receive update regarding the Broadview Energy Ltd Wind Farm development th It was noted that the decision of Eric Pickles is expected on or before 28 May 2014. The village had been well represented at the inquiry and in statements made; it was emphasised that parishioners can still contact Eric Pickles to express their views.
b) To receive decisions of Planning committee on applications since 25/09/13
Application: S/2013/1085/FUL
Location: 8 Shortlands Close, Helmdon
Proposal: Two storey side extension and porch
It was resolved to support the application.
Clerk

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Application: S/2013/1227/PC and 13/00088/WASVOC
Location: Blackpits Farm Welsh Lane Helmdon
Proposal: Variation of condition 2 of planning permission 07/00059/WAS to add two additional waste types, including food and residual waste
The Parish Council considered correspondence received regarding this application some of which objected to the application. A site meeting had taken place by members of the Blackpits
Monitoring Group and there were no concerns from that group. The applicant had indicate that information leaflets would be delivered to village properties. The Parish Council
Representatives on the group had not been invited to the meeting and would approach the group to ensure they were included in the future. Cllrs Burns and Coatsworth would visit the site and report back to the November Parish Council Meeting.
It was resolved to support the application and make the following comments:
Whilst supporting the principle of the application the Parish Council would raise the following concerns:
• Highway safety concerns due to the proposed 50% increase in traffic movements on a stretch of road with a poor accident record.
• Vehicles have been returning empty back through the village which they are not supposed to do. Conditions need to be tightened to stop this happening in the future.
• Given the number of applications already received, and the change in nature of the waste, it is hoped that this is not a pre-cursor to further major development on the site.
Application: S/2013/1311/FUL
Location: Helmdon Baptist Church Wappenham Road Helmdon
Proposal: Conversion of existing Baptist Church to form single dwelling
It was resolved to support the application.
Application: S/2013/1328/FUL
Location: 75 Wappenham Road Helmdon
Proposal: Convert existing first floor of outbuilding to a self contained flat. Including modification to ground floor accommodation and deck extension to provide bin store, car port and stair access to flat
It was resolved to support the application.
Application: S/2013/1311/FUL
Location: Helmdon Baptist Church Wappenham Road Helmdon
Proposal: Conversion of existing Baptist Church to form single dwelling
It was resolved to OBJECT to the application thus;
The Parish Council has reviewed the application for a second time and would now OBJECT as follows:
There are three proposed windows on the East elevation and a doorway that directly overlook a neighbour’s property, intruding both on the ground and first floor of their amenity. The previously approved application had no windows or doors in this elevation.
The height of the roof ridge is being increased (not particularly clear on the plans) which will impose heavily on the neighbouring properties and be at odds both with the landscape setting of the adjacent listed building and the street scene in general. This is made worse by the current hip roof being replaced by built up gable ends.
c) Update from Parish Clerk regarding outstanding applications
It was noted that the only outstanding applications were those for 75 Wappenham Rd and 6
Lukes Close.
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9 To receive a report from Cllr Moody on the meeting of the South Northants Clerks’
Forum held on 8 November 2013
Cllr Moody had reported that he had attended as a rep of NorthantsCALC and found the meeting very useful with key people from SNC attending. Topics had included precept setting, the CTRS, Community Fund ( it was noted there was no deadline for spending the fund), the
Joint Core Strategy. Paula Judd is the point of contact if Clerks need signposting to other services. A meeting will take place every 6 months and a reference directory of officers is to be created. A funding officer is due to be recruited.
10 Blackpits Monitoring Group – update
Cllr Coatsworth reported that there had been a misunderstanding between the Parish Council and the Monitoring Group; a meeting had been held with all representatives invited and it was agreed that the Monitoring Group should continue to report into the Parish Council. It was noted that the Group had never been part of the Parish Council and that many parishioners thought the group no longer existed.
It was resolved that
• The Chair should report to the Parish Council every 6 months and should contact the
Clerk in the interim should anything urgent arise.
• The contact point for the Group should be a member of the committee and be given to the Clerk for inclusion in Helmdon Voice.
• Cllr Coatsworth and Burns would be the Parish Council representatives on the Group
11 To receive reports from Cllr Coatsworth regarding a) CPRE roadshow
The road show had highlighted that developers are taking advantage of the lack of Plans in
Northamptonshire. Brain Skitterall had commented that Eric Pickles had to date turned down all wind farm projects which had been called in. Regarding Neighbourhood Plans, it was noted that Oundle had 20 volunteers working on their project and had to date spent between £18,500
– £20,000.
b) SNC Planning Dept solar farms
Cllrs Adhemar and Coatsworth had attended a meeting where a planner had given an overview of what a site should address in the absence of a specific policy: visual impact, no impact on footpaths, network distribution arrangements. Any failures must be repaired and the developer must offer to provide community benefit.
c) SNC Planning Dept local plan development th It was reported that SNC has issued a pack for Helmdon to be submitted by 26 January. The
PPMG will meet prior to the January meeting to prepare a response to be agreed at the meeting. It was noted that references to the Parish Plan will be made.
Cllr Burns thanked Cllr Coatsworth for attending the meetings.
12 Best village competition – actions arising from judges' comments
Cllr Coatsworth summarised the Judges’ feedback which commented that the village should have a central information point and a welcome pack. The PPMG will review this and also consider a film project. Cllr Coatsworth read out the final summary comments he had written as feedback was that this did not highlight the positives of the village sufficiently; he would be seeking feed back from other Councillors for future submissions. Cllr Burns thanked Cllr
Coatsworth for all his efforts for the village regarding the competition.
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13 To receive update regarding ditch clearance and other flooding related issues
Cllr Burns closed the meeting to allow members of the public to comment.
It was clarified that Anglian Water had completed some clearance works near the STW.
Cllr Burns confirmed that Mike Tims is receptive to assisting alleviate the surface water issues.
It was noted that works done by Bulkhead properties had obscured the pipe entrance which
Richard Farquaharson stated was 23 metres from bridge and that he would attempt to locate it and mark it.
Cllr Burns re-opened the meeting.
It was resolved that the Clerk should write to Bulkhead properties and outline the works completed to date and request a headwall be built.
Clerk
It was further resolved that the Clerk write to Anglian Water to request the junction work at
Church Street and Station Road be completed and that the Clerk remind parishioners to ring
AW if sewers are bubbling.
Clerk
Clerk
14 To receive update from the Clerk regarding Western Power’s correspondence regarding street lighting on Wappenham Road.
It was resolved that the Clerk should request documentation regarding the last inspection report and to inform Western Power that the Clerk was the official point of contact.
Clerk
15 To receive update regarding the Jubilee Wall
It was confirmed that Patrick Gartside has dug the foundations and a small section of wall which, it was thought, needed to be inspected. A sample of the stone had been taken into SNC
would respond within 8 weeks, although Cllr Coatsworth would try to accelerate the decision. Cllr Coatsworth
16 To appoint a Highway Warden for Helmdon under the new Northamptonshire Highways
Scheme.
It was resolved to appoint Cllr Moody as Highway Warden.
17 To consider most appropriate installation point for new computer for HS2 information dissemination
It was considered that the cupboard in the Committee Room was the most appropriate place.
Cllr England and the Clerk would liaise regarding installation.
18 Update from the Playground Committee
No further issues to report.
19 To receive recommendations from the Allotment Committee
Cllr Coatsworth had removed the seal on the pump to stop it disintegrating during frosty weather; it was noted that all allotment plots were now occupied.
20 Councillors’ Questions
The Clerk was asked to order three new signs for the village entrance.
The meeting closed at 9:47pm
Cllr England
Clerk

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.
th th Appendix A – Correspondence Received – 24 September – 27 November 2013
South Northamptonshire Council
• Weekly Planning Application listings
• Electoral Role Supply Form
• Military Community Event details
• Alternations to electoral register
• Details of the proposed Council Tax Reduction Scheme for South Northamptonshire Council for
2014-2015
• SNC Local Plan – Issues Paper Consultation Briefings
• Press releases on Play Rangers, conservation area consultations, fly infestations, moat lane regeneration project, Poppy Appeal, feed birds safely, Local Plan consultation
• Planning Applications:
o S/2013/1096/MAR – land at Radstone Fields – reserved matters – notice of Development
Control Committee Meeting o S/2013/1276/MAR – land at Redstone Fields – approval of reserved matters o S/2013/1445/FUL – 6 Lukes Close Helmdon Brackley -Two storey rear extension o S//2013/1506/MAF – Land at The Old Glebe Radstone Road Brackley – Residential development of 49 dwellings with new access and associated infrastructure and landscaping o A/2013/0010/FUL – Poplars Farm Wappenham – single wind turbine – notification that application will be decided by written representation to the Planning Inspectorate o S/20113/0885/MAR – land at Radstone Fields – reserved matters amendments to layout details o S/2013/1311/FUL – Helmdon Baptist Church Wappenham Road Helmdon – conversion of existing Baptist Church to form single dwelling o S/2013/1328/FUL -75 Wappenham Road Helmdon – Convert existing first floor of outbuilding to a self contained flat. Including modification to ground floor accommodation and deck extension to provide bin store, car port and stair access to flat
Northamptonshire County Council
• Policing updates
• Highways Newsletters
• Proposed 50mph speed limit – details – consultation
• 13/00088/WASVOC – Blackpits Farm, Helmdon – notification of decision
• Notice of road closure – B4525
• HS2 Hybrid Bill and Environmental Statement Publication – NCC Meetings with Parish Councils regarding Highways and Rights of Way – invitation
• Withdrawal of bus services operated by Tex Coaches including 508

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NCALC
• Update Sept/Oct
• New Model Standing Orders
• Details of county flag competition
• Finance update
• Notice of Highway Warden Scheme
• Training Schedule
• Notice of Parish Clerk Vacancy in Crick
Miscellaneous
• Coop : bank statements – October, November
• Top Print invoice
• CPRE – Countryside Voice Winter 2013
• HS2 various communications regarding the Hybill Bill, delivery of computer and memory stick
• Brown and Barden – invoice 3666 – 195.71 + 39.14 VAT = 234.85
• P. D. Ward – invoice for Jubilee Wood sign – £65.00
• Helmdon Reading Room – £75.00
• CPRE Outlook – October 2013
• Came and Company – insurance documentation
• Anglian Water – update of works carried out to date
• David Powell – various communications regarding Blackpits and notice of meeting
• CPRE Planning Roadshow – booking confirmation
• ACRE – Annual Report
• SNVB – newsletters
• Mr Fitzroy-Ezzy – concerns regarding Baptist Chapel application
• Western Power – notice of works on Wappenham Road
• HMRC – confirmation of online submissions for Real time PAYE
• Helmdon Primary School – concerns over pavement condition outside the school (photos encl)
• Marc Pooler (on behalf of Andrea Leadsom) – email of thanks to PC for sending through details of numbers of opposed letters, confirmation that application was called in by Eric Pickles
• Philip Ward – notice of intention to plant replacement tree on Station Rd and subsequent update that honey fungus was still present in the soil so not possible to replant
• Sutcliffe Play – two separate quotes for slide steps repair.
• LR Brown Ltd – quote for slide steps repair
• Hand Made Places – quote for slide steps repair
• SNAG meeting details